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    10. LEADING A TEAM

    Team Building: An Overview

    What is a team?

    A team is more than just a group of individuals who work together. A team is a smallnumber of individuals with complementary skills committed to a common purpose,

    common performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves collectivelyaccountable.

    Organizations form different teams for different purposes.

    Team Type Purpose

    Organizational policyteam

    Develop philosophy, policy, and direction

    Task force Implement a strategic plan for addressing a problem or an opportunity

    Quality circle Work on specific quality, productivity, and service problems

    Self-directed work team Meet together on an ongoing, daily basis to perform a whole workprocess

    Self-managed team Assume management responsibilities

    Tasks or situations that lend themselves to the use of a team

    require a combination of knowledge, expertise, and perspective that cannot befound in a single individual

    require individuals to be highly interdependent to get their work done and achievea common goal

    present a challenge. Building a strong performance ethic is critical to encouragingteam performance.

    The benefits of teams

    When teams work well, the results can be extremely powerful. They may include thefollowing:

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    improved performance a more motivating environment shared responsibility for assignments ability to respond more quickly to changes in technology more effective use of delegation

    a shared commitment to goals greater creativity and effectiveness in tackling problems ability to assign tasks more flexibly more effective decisions improved communication increased cross-training and development

    Many of these advantages flow from the synergy of team members assembled skills andexperiences. In addition, teams tend to establish new communication processes that allowfor ongoing problem-solving. Finally, many people enjoy, and are motivated by, workingin teams. As a result, they deliver their best performance in a team setting.

    Understanding How Teams Work

    What do teams do?

    While a teams mission and goals will clearly drive the activities it performs, any teamswork tends to follow a typical pattern. The team will

    agree on an approach to the project develop a process to complete the tasks

    execute the process evaluate and self-correct the process, depending on the results of measurement

    and analysis communicate with all parties involved cross-train members.

    The scope of team authority

    Teams often have sole authority over decisions related to team operations and processes.In addition, they may make resource decisions within a specified budget limit. Uppermanagement usually gets involved in decisions related to

    personnel expenditures over a given budget amount changes in key product suppliers or service providers. bringing in outside resources changes in organization-wide policy or goals choices affecting customers such as pricing and specifications changes in the teams deliverables and schedule.

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    Be sure that your team and upper management have a shared perception of whatdecisions the team can make, which decisions will be made outside the group, and alsohow those decisions will be communicated in a timely manner.

    Characteristics of productive teams

    Within the most productive teams,

    the team culture engenders trust, sharing, spontaneity, and risk taking members participate in setting specific, realistic goals. They agree with the goals

    and are committed to them. team goals are as important as individual goals members contribute a diverse, yet appropriate, mix of skills and experiences members clearly understand their roles and shift responsibilities as needed the team has clearly identified norms for managing conflict intra-team competitiveness is managed

    all members feel empowered members are honest, straightforward, supportive, and tolerant of mistakes members are open to new ideas and perspectives, and are eager to do the right

    thing decision making is by consensus, rather than majority vote, when appropriate decisions are made on the basis of substance, not by the style or status of the

    individual proposing the idea communication includes all members, and a range of opinions is encouraged the team works constantly on improving its interactions as well as its

    performance.

    Why a team might fail A failed team may well have completed its deliverables and met its schedule, butnevertheless the organization may fail to make meaningful use of its contributions. Lackof management support and weak leadership are the most frequent drivers of team failure.Other factors include the following:

    a team structure that does not fit into the larger organizational structure a team focus limited to tasks, ignoring internal relationships team members who do not take responsibility for themselves a structure that is mismatched to the number of people involved lack of a true need because individuals have independent, not interdependent,

    tasks to fulfill team members who are uncomfortable with the team development or teamwork

    processes inadequate resources to get the job done inadequate reward systems

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    Establishing a Team

    Select members

    When selecting team members, try to ensure that you recruit individuals who cancontribute a complementary mix of skill sets. Look not only for those people whocurrently possess the skills the team needs, but also for those who have the potential todevel op needed skills. While the ideal mix will vary depending on the teams mission, allteams require a blend of technical/functional expertise that include

    problem-solving and decision-making talents interpersonal skills team skills.

    The optimal size for a team also depends on the teams goals and tasks. In general, small

    teams (five to nine members) tend to be most effective when the teams tasks arecomplex and require specific skills. Larger teams (up to 25 people) can be quite effectiveif their tasks are fairly simple and straightforward and team members agree to delegatetasks to subgroups as needed. Including an odd number of people on the team canfacilitate decision making, since "majority rules" votes will never end in ties.

    Identify roles

    Once you have established the teams membership, you will need to determine and/orcommunicate who will fill the following key roles.

    Team Leader: fosters development of the team Team Adviser: champions the team within the organization Facilitator: schedules and conducts team meetings Process Observers: support the leader and facilitator in promoting team culture Scribe or Recorder: takes minutes during team meetings.

    Keep in mind that role assignments need not be permanent. You may decide to rotateroles at certain points, or you may designate some roles to be shared by several members

    throughout the project.

    Create the teams goals and charter

    Your team needs specific goals and deliverables around which it can focus its efforts.These initial goals need to be realistic and, at the same time, provide team members witha challenge to promote cooperation and collaboration. While senior management willundoubtedly have provided you with a general purpose, working together to define yourgoals more precisely can engender a sense of mission and cohesiveness in your teamfrom the outset.

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    Similarly, creating a written charter for your team can help get it into functional readinessmore quickly. It can also serve as a focal point that helps keep the team on trackthroughout the project. A team charter should capture

    team mission and goals

    leadership roles identification of other teams, departments, and customers with whom the teamwill need to work

    measures of success norms to guide team behavior.

    Establish decision rules

    Clear rules on how the teams decisions will be made will allow people to feelcomfortable with the decisions and support them.

    As team leader, you need to help the team determine

    who will make the decisions (team leader, team, individuals in the team) how you will make the decisions (consensus, majority) whether decisions are always final or, if not, what kind of modification process

    there will be.

    The choices of decision-making method (how) and the decision makers (who) are closelyrelated. Some approaches follow.

    Majority rules . Team members bring input to the meeting, discuss, and then vote. The

    decision that receives over 50% of the votes is adopted.Consensus . Every member of the team must agree to adopt a decision. The teamdevelops new alternatives if consensus is not reached.Small group decides . A group of individuals with relevant experience and skills isselected to make decisions.Leader decides with input . The team leader gathers input from team members, thenmakes the decision.

    In selecting a decision-making approach, your team will need to weigh some tradeoffs.The more involved the team members are in the decision-making process, the more likelyit is that they will support the outcome. As a result, the consensus and majority rules

    approaches can help build team commitment. These approaches, however, take time, andthe team may or may not have the necessary time built into its schedule. If time is anissue, you might consider using different approaches for different types of decisions. Useone of the "team decides" approaches to make the decisions that are the most important toteam members, and use a more streamlined approach for the rest.

    Learn to operate as a team

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    To help the team learn to operate as a team, work with the team as a whole rather thandealing with individuals on a one-on-one basis. You want the focus to be on collectiveteam performance versus individual achievement.

    Empower team members to be active participants in the decision-making process of the

    team. By doing so, you promote ownership and commitment among team members andencourage initiative and responsibility. Empowerment fosters a working environment based on trust and collaboration.

    Some individuals may need some training to function effectively in the team setting. Forexample, they may need to learn to

    speak up in groups state their own opinions set limits and be able to say "no" deliver constructive feedback, both positive and negative

    respond to constructive criticism make requests to authority figures; for example, stating what they need in terms oforganizational support

    negotiate take responsibility for their own actions.

    Most importantly, team members will need to put the teams interests ahead of their ownindividual interests. You can encourage them to do so through reward systems that makethe benefits of team performance more attractive than the benefits of individual

    performance. You can also teach members how to negotiate for win-win solutions that benefit both the team and the individual.

    See also Steps.

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    Becoming an Effective Team Leader

    The team leaders role

    Traditional managers often take on the roles of decision maker,delegator, director, and scheduler of the work of others. Teamleaders, on the other hand, are more like coaches. In movingfrom a traditional management role to that of team leader, youmight shift the focus toward facilitating rather than directing.You will want to rely on the expertise of others rather than

    being seen as the "expert." In addition, empower others to solve problems rather than being the problem solver. You may also consider sharing your planning responsibilities with the team rather than creating plans yourself.

    There are three important roles that a team leader generally plays on a high-performing

    work team.

    Initiator: beginning actions and processes that promote team development and performance

    Model: shaping behavior and performance that reflects the expectations set forthe team

    Coach: serving as counselor, mentor, and tutor to help team members improve performance

    The team leader performs other tasks, such as

    communicating information, policies, and work orders guiding members in how to manage processes and evaluate results facilitating communication between the team and other groups encouraging process improvements and behavior that support the team culture mediating conflicts.

    Characteristics of an effective team leader

    An effective team leader must

    believe in the basic concept of teams and teamwork

    provide direction for the team, either by setting its direction and goals or byensuring that the team sets goals set clear expectations and provide feedback, both positive and negative, to support

    those expectations maintain a focus on the teams performance and development through regular

    meetings and discussions.

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    Handling Problems

    When teams get "stuck"

    Teams can get "stuck" mid- project for a variety of reasons. At times, members sense ofdirection may weaken, either because it was ill-defined to begin with or because membershave not continued to discuss it among themselves. There may be insufficient or unequalcommitment to the teams performance, resulting from excessive focus on team dynamicsor interpersonal conflict. Critical skill gaps may emerge, or the team may encounterconfusion, hostility, or indifference from other groups.

    Fortunately, there are many actions that a leader can take to help a team get "unstuck."

    Lead a team discussion that revisits its purpose, approach, and performance goals,using the charter to illustrate. Probe for hidden assumptions and differences in

    opinion, and work to resolve them. Establish a common, immediate goal and achieve it. Bring in new information and different perspectives from within the organization

    or outside via benchmarks, case histories, interviews, or corporate visits. Change the composition of the teams membership.

    Conflict between an individual and the team

    When individual behavior causes difficulty for a team, there are different approaches foridentifying and handling it. In a direct team-discussion approach, every member maycomment about every other team member regarding the following:

    behavior they like behavior that causes problems for them how the person could behave differently what they count on from the person for the teams success

    Each team member then commits to change his or her behavior as a result of thefeedback. This approach takes time, group trust, and facilitative skills to work mosteffectively.

    In another approach, a facilitator and a process observer (a team member whose role is to

    help maintain team relationships) meet privately with the individual who exhibits the problem behavior. They need to

    describe the specific problematic behavior state the impact of the behavior offer a specific alternative behavior describe the consequences if the problem behavior continues.

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    With either approach, it is often helpful to set up a "check-back" time to review progressand support the individuals attempts to change behavior.

    See also Managing Difficult Interactions: Steps.

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    Evaluating Performance

    Performance measures

    Teams can identify a set of specific performance measures that can be used to chart their progress toward their goals. While the type of measures used depends largely on thespecific work of the team, the following list provides samples of the types of measuresoften used:

    achievement of business goals for which the team is responsible customer satisfaction cost of production quality of product or service profits delivery time

    downtime in hours reply time to customers

    Factors in evaluating performance

    Traditional performance evaluation is most often oriented toward results or output. The primary difference in evaluating team performance is that, while results are still critical,the way in which the team achieves those results is also important. The collaborative

    process used to achieve results is an important measure of team performance. Given that,the performance factors listed below are divided into two equally important categories:results and process.

    Results factors:

    achievement of team goals customer satisfaction quantity of work completed job knowledge and skills acquired

    Process factors:

    support of team process and commitment to the team

    level of participation and leadership oral and written communication within and on behalf of the team collaboration conflict resolution planning and goal setting participative, win-win decision making problem solving and application of analytical skills level of credibility and trust

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    adherence to agreed-upon processes and procedures application of project management skills (for example, budgeting and scheduling) building and sustaining interpersonal relationships willingness to change and take risks individual and team learning

    See also Assessing Performance: Steps.

    Evaluation methods

    There are many different approaches available for measuring your teams success. Theyvary widely in complexity, cost, and time required. You should consider a more elaboratemethod for a team whose mission is extensive and will have a significant impact onorganizational performance; for teams with narrower missions, simpler methods can still

    provide a great deal of learning. The methods include

    benchmarking against other similar teams in similar organizations evaluating the teams progress against origi nal goals and schedules observation of the team by an outside consultant encouraging regular, informal team discussions to assess the teams functioning project debriefing sessions to identify what did and did not go well and how this

    learning can help future projects.

    Reviewing the performance of individual team members

    An individual team member actually performs a number of roles, for example, as anindividual contributor, as a member of the team, and as a member of the largerorganization. Thus, in reviewing performance, it is helpful to combine at least a couple ofthe following methods to address performance in each of those roles:

    Peer rating . Team members assess each others contributions. Customer satisfaction rating . Internal and external customers rate the

    performance of the team and of the individual members. Self-appraisal . Each team member rates his or her own performance. Team leader review . You, as the team leader or the supervisor, evaluate each

    individuals performance. Management review . Department heads or managers of the team leaders

    evaluate individual and team performance.

    Guidelines for team reward systems

    Teams, like individuals, are motivated by rewards. A carefully designed reward systemcan be an important driver of your teams success. In creating the reward system, be sureto

    emphasize the group, not the individuals

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    offer rewards not only at the end of a project but also at strategic milestones consider carefully who should give out the rewards decide what to do about members who leave or join the team mid-project.

    There are many ways to reward team accomplishments without spending money. Figure

    out what kinds of rewards will be meaningful to the team as a whole. Be creative. Forexample,

    announce team accomplishments at larger, organizational meetings ask team members to serve as consultants to other teams place notes in the personnel files of individual team members send the team a handwritten personal note in recognition of a task well done

    empower the team with greater freedom and authority to make decisions.

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    ST PS

    1. Steps for Starting a Team

    1. Create a strategic focus . 2. Identify the teams purpose, its authority, and its duration . 3. Select members carefully . 4. Set early and realistic goals . 5. Define the measures of success . 6. Clarify the roles and responsibilities within and around the team.7. Create a charter for the team.

    1. Create a strategic focus.

    The focus for any team must incorporate the vision and values of the largerorganization of which the team is a part.

    A team must know what the organization as a whole is trying to accomplish andmust understand the business goals, strategies, and values as well as the criteriafor success that are important to upper management.

    Based on a clear strategic focus, the team has a solid framework for managing itsown performance.

    2. Identify the teams purpose, its authority, and its duration.

    Most teams are formed with a specific purpose in mind, whether it be a particular

    project, process, or service. Knowing the teams purpose is critical to helping members work together more

    effectively. If appropriate, teams must be empowered to make and implement decisions, and

    team members must be aware of the extent of their authority. Sometimes teamsonly give recommendations; they have no official authority nor do theyimplement decisions.

    Finally, teams must have a timeline toward which to direct their activities. Whilesome teams are limited by time, others may exist on a more open-ended schedule

    but would still need deliverables executed according to a specific schedule.

    3. Select members carefully.

    When you are given the opportunity to start a team from the ground up, designyour selection process carefully.

    Identify individuals with the qualities, experience, and knowledge you need toaccomplish the teams tasks and select its members based on these dimensions.

    Consider how membership might provide a development experience for a specific person.

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    See also Delegating: Steps.

    4. Set early and realistic goals.

    As the team is forming, it needs specific goals and deliverables around which it

    can focus its efforts. Initial goals need to be realistic and at the same time provide team members witha challenge to promote cooperation and collaboration.

    Goals can evolve and change as the team develops confidence and achieves earlysuccesses.

    5. Define the measures of success.

    Teams should identify a set of specific performance measures that can be used to chartthe teams progress toward its goals. While the type of measures used depends largely onthe specific work of the team, the following list provides some typical examples.

    achievement of business goals for which the team is responsible customer satisfaction cost of production quality of product or service profits delivery time downtime in hours reply time to customers

    6. Clarify the roles and responsibilities within and around the team.

    An essential ingredient to team development is clear identification of team rolesand responsibilities.

    One way to accomplish this is to develop a matrix that outlines key teamresponsibilities and then assign all members to specific roles, responsibilities, and

    priorities.

    7. Create a charter for the team.

    Creating a written charter for your team early on can help get it into functional readinessmore quickly. The issues a team charter should address include

    team mission and goals leadership roles identification of other teams, departments, and customers with whom the team

    will need to work measures of success norms to guide team behavior.

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    2. Steps for Leading an Effective Team

    1. Lead your team with a clearly defined purpose . 2. Empower team members to participate in determining how to achieve the te amsgoals.

    3. Build consensus within the team.4. Direct the teams process to stay focused on agreed-upon goals.

    1. Lead your team with a clearly defined purpose.

    A team is typically given a clearly defined purpose at its outset. By leading with a purpose, you can set challenging, optimistic, and realistic goals that will motivateyour teams performance.

    The teams goals provide an immediate focus while fitting into the companyslarger, strategic goals. Be sure to publicize the goals, and work with your team to establish milestones to

    indicate progress toward those goals. Acknowledge and celebrate achievement of team goals.

    2. Empower team members to participate in determining how to achieve theteams goals.

    Give your team the authority it needs to participate in making decisions abouthow the teams goals will be achieved.

    Use consensus, as opposed to majority vote, to come to team decisions whenever possible. Encourage team members to solve problems that are within their realm of

    expertise. Keep an open mind in seeking out the opinions and ideas of team members. Provide positive reinforcement to team members for their participation.

    See also Delegating: Core Concepts.

    3. Build consensus within the team.

    Assume team members will encounter conflict and assist them in working throughit. Encourage sharing of diverse ideas and opinions, and help move the team toward

    general agreement. Once agreement has been reached, empower the team to act on its decision.

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    4. Direct the teams process to stay focused on agreed -upon goals.

    Be clear about expectations and directions. Intervene when necessary to keep the team on track, or support them in how they

    plan to self-correct. Maintain a neutral stance during any team conflict. Recommend alternative processes to help the team move toward its goals.

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    TIPS

    1. Tips for Selecting Team Members

    Recruit individuals who can contribute a complementary mix of skill sets (projectmanagement expertise, financial skills, systems knowledge, etc.).

    Look for individuals with specific problem-solving and decision-making talents. Describe your teams goa ls to your manager and your colleagues and ask whom

    they would recommend. Ask potential candidates what team experience they have. Make sure that you

    include some individuals who have experience with teams. Avoid selecting the individual who is always picked for high-level teams,

    especially those with a long life-cycle. Look instead for someone who will viewthis as an opportunity to combine skills and talents with others.

    2. Tips for Building Team Performance

    Establish an urgent and worthwhile purpose and a clear direction. Select team members on the basis of their knowledge, experience, and skills, not

    on their personalities. Be alert to what happens in the first meetings, including actions taken. Set clear rules of behavior. Establish immediate performance-oriented tasks and goals. Keep providing new facts and information to create a challenge.

    Use positive feedback, recognition, and rewards.

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    TOOLS

    Harvard ManageMentor LEADING A TEAM TOOLS

    Worksheet for Forming a Team Team Purpose

    Expected Activities

    Intended Results

    Available Resources

    Constraints

    Necessary Skills and Qualities

    Team Members

    Extent of Decision-Making Authority (e.g., Recommend or Implement)

    Duration

    1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and its licensors. All rights reserved.

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    Harvard ManageMentor LEADING A TEAM TOOLS

    Checklist for Evaluating Whether a Group Is a Team

    Assess whether a group working together is indeed a team. Read the questions below and check off your

    answer.

    Question Yes No

    1. Is the group small enough in number to convene and communicate easily, to have open, interactivediscussion, and to understand members roles and responsibilities?

    2. Do you have adequate levels of complementary skills in functional or technical areas, in problemsolving and decision making, and in interpersonal capabilities?

    3. Do you have a broad, meaningful purpose that all team members are committed to?

    4. Do you have a set of agreed-upon performance goals?

    5. Is the approach to doing the work clear and shared, making use of all team members skills?

    6. Do team members hold themselves individually and jointly accountable as measured against specificgoals?

    1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and its licensors. All rights reserved.

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    Harvard ManageMentor LEADING A TEAM TOOLS

    Checklist for Assessing a Teams Performance

    Answer each question to identify areas in which a team may need to improve.

    Question Yes No

    1. Does the team have written statements for a vision, values, mission or purpose, structure, roles, andgoals?

    2. Does the team have a charter?

    3. Has the charter been reviewed for relevance?

    4. Are there clear, common, current goals?

    5. Are there action plans to meet those goals?

    6. Have roles been defined?

    7. Are roles habitually rotated or are the same few people doing all the work?

    8. Has the team defined its rules?

    9. Does the team regularly review compliance with its rules?

    10. Are there patterns of high and low participation by team members?

    11. Are tasks equally shared?

    12. Does the team run its meetings well (agenda, priorities, time frames, decision making, timeliness) and

    at regularly scheduled intervals?13. Have team members been cross-trained?

    14. Is communication open, honest, and direct?

    15. Do team members give each other constructive feedback?

    16. Does the team check its authority to make each decision?

    17. Does the team achieve consensus on decisions?

    18. In solving problems, is the team open to new ideas?

    19. Does the team use sound problem-solving methods?

    20. Does the team take responsibility for instituting, modifying, and implementing its processes?

    21. Does the team have a method for handling conflicts constructively?

    22. Are team members clear about the benefits of being on the team?

    23. Has training continued beyond the initial team-training period?

    24. Does the team assess its needs for refresher training?

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    Checklist for Assessing Your Teams Goals

    Use the checklist below to assess characteristics of your teams goals. Read the questions below and check off

    your answer.

    Question Yes No

    1. Did the team jointly create its goals?

    2. Has the team translated its purpose into specific and measurable performance goals (for example,Respond to all customers within 24 hours.)?

    3. Are they team goals rather than organizational goals or just one persons goals (for example, yours)?

    4. Does meeting the goals require the contribution of every team member?

    5. Are the goals clear?

    6. Are the goals simple?

    7. Are the goals realistic?

    8. Are the goals ambitious?

    9. Can the goals be measured?

    If the goals cannot be measured, can you and your colleagues determine when you have achievedthem?

    10. Do the goals measure the teams cross -functional purpose?

    11. Do all team members agree with the way in which the goals will be measured?

    12. Do the goals provide clear yardsticks for team accountability?

    13. Are the teams goals prioritized?

    14. Is the priority of those goals clear to and agreed-upon by all team members?

    15. Do all team members understand the goals?

    16. Do all team members explain the goals in the same way?

    17. Do all team members agree with the goals?

    18. Do the goals allow for small wins along the way?

    19. Do these small wins or benchmarks reflect critical points in the path toward the teams goals?

    20. Do the goals add real value to the companys results?

    A highly effective team is likely to answer yes to most or all of these questions. If you answered no to any of these questions, the team may want to discuss the issue and how it may be affecting the team. Changing or refini ngthe teams goals may lead to better performance.

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    Checklist for Evaluating Yourself as a Team Leader

    To evaluate yourself as a team leader, answer these questions. Your answers will help to pinpoint areas of

    improvement that may lead to better leadership.

    Question Always Often Rarely Never

    1. Do you facilitate effective team decision making?

    2. Do you work with the team to determine work assignments?

    3. Do you help the team evaluate itself?

    4. Do you ensure that the team is accountable for its work?

    5. Do you do real work beyond decision making, delegating, and agenda setting?

    6. Do you put team results ahead of personal achievement?

    7. Are you able to strike a balance between doing things yourself and letting other people do them?

    8. Do you promote constructive conflict?

    9. Do you help the team resolve conflicts and problems in a positive and constructive way?

    10. Do you widen your perspective to help the team clarify its purpose, goals, and approach?

    11. Do you avoid actions that unnecessarily limit team members?

    12. Do you constantly challenge the team to sharpen its common purpose, goals, and approach?

    13. Do you build trust in team members by acting in concert with the team and its purpose?

    14. Do you create opportunities for team members, sometimes at your own expense?

    15. Do you explain the teams purpose and act to promote and share responsibility for it?

    16. Do you think about and describe your role in team terms instead of individual or hierarchical

    terms?17. Are you a champion for the team? For example, do you fight for the resources that the team

    needs, promote the teams best interests in dealings with the company, and have an undyingbelief in the project?

    18. Do you identify and act to remove barriers for the team?

    19. Do you accept team failures rather than blaming other people?

    20. Do you accept performance shortfalls and find solutions to address them, rather than excusingthem by pointing to things outside of your control?

    21. Does your attitude reflect dependence on the team?

    22. Do you see when your actions could hinder the team?

    23. Do you believe that you do not have all the answers?

    24. Are you able to give up command and control to help the team perform better?

    25. Are you able to change your leadership style as the team develops?

    26. Do you wholeheartedly believe in the team's purpose and in the people on the team?

    27. Are you able to strike a balance between too much control and too little guidance?

    28. Are you able to strike a balance between making tough decisions and letting others make them?

    29. Are you patient while the team talks about its purpose, goals, and approach?

    30. Do you encourage team members to take risks needed for growth and development?

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    31. Do you challenge team members by shifting work assignments so that the same members are notalways responsible for the same types of work?

    32. Do you challenge team members by shifting role patterns so that the same members are notalways assuming the same types of roles?

    The leader of a highly effective team is likely to answer always or often to most of these questions.

    If you answered rarely or never to any questions, you might want to think about the issue that the question impliesand about ways in which you might be inhibiting team performance. Brainstorm ways you can get help; for example, ifyou think its appropriate, consider asking for guidance from the manager to whom the team reports. Or, think about

    whether other managers or executives, or your peers, can help. You might also consider asking the team for guidance.

    1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and its licensors. All rights reserved.

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    Role Clarification Worksheet

    Ask each team member to complete the worksheet. Responses can be compared as part of a team discussion

    about roles.

    1. List roles/responsibilities of each team member:

    Team Member Name Roles/Responsibilities

    2. Roles or specific areas of responsibility which are unclear:

    Aspects of my role which are unclear:

    Aspects of others roles which are unclear:

    3. Roles which overlap or conflict:

    4. Roles which should be shared within the team:

    5. Additional roles or responsibilities which should be assumed by the team: